Murder mystery set in AKRANES, Iceland
A novel of childhood set in NEW ENGLAND
4th April 2025
Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford, a novel of childhood set in NEW ENGLAND.
Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford is a novel about childhood. It is set in New England and focuses on a particular day in 1989. An amorphous collection of cousins has gathered at a family birthday party at their grandparents’ home, but they are then left to their own devices. It becomes apparent that this is a regular occurrence, with the adults busy discussing the past and arguing; too occupied to notice what the children are up to. There is the usual amount of fun and teasing, until the youngest cousin, Abi, goes missing, and the search begins.
The book is narrated by one of the cousins, but they are reflecting on what happened from an adult perspective, so the language and attitudes are not those of a child. The adult is still trying to come to terms with what happened, and to make sense of family relationships that were not really questioned at the time.
The book sets out its stall early – it is about a tragic loss. The comparison with the Russian Romanov family is… interesting. I’ll leave it to you to decide whether it is appropriate. The book aims to be both scary and wryly humorous. I’d say it succeeds on both counts.
The narrator doesn’t divulge whether they are male or female, nor do they give us their name. Some of the cousins – those with key roles in the drama – are awarded names but we are never certain how many cousins are present in the group. They behave as one organism, bravely reaching out on occasion, then retreating into the safety of the group. Isolation represents danger and yet there are conflicts within the group, with serious consequences. It took me a while to realise that Idle Grounds reminds me of Lord of the Flies, only the island becomes a family homestead in New England and the cast is a mixture of girls and boys of different ages.
The author is primarily a poet, which is clear from the rich, descriptive language she uses to convey the story’s setting, the feelings of the children and the more imaginative passages of the book. We can feel the heat of midsummer, the atmospheric landscape and the intense emotions aroused in the children as things begin to go wrong. The book is also nostalgic for a particular period – harking back to American candy brands that are no longer available, for example.
This book is something of an enigma: it’s a magical tale of childhood. I loved certain passages of the book in particular; the way that the very young cousin, Owen, cares for the eggs that he finds and becomes their ‘mother’ is very appealing. The apparently physical barrier that prevents the group from exploring, and of the creature that flits threateningly along the treeline, are beautiful depictions of a childish imagination.
I don’t agree with previous assertions that this book is ‘chilling’, but its drama and insight into the lives of several generations of the narrator’s family in New England are well worth your time. Recommended.
Sue for the TripFiction Team
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